What is the Average Age of a Tao Bum

[Synophion]

Being as Im new here and somewhat 'long in the tooth' in regard to spiritual practices of many forms I must admit I've been a bit suprised at some of the replies made on the various threads and upon further research I discovered that none of the profiles that I checked, in an attempt to know my fellow correspondents better, offered their ages or any info at all regarding who they were. Such things are often important to avoid certain misunderstandings and in truth I am not overly comfortable conversing with those whom I have not been introduced properly - so British LOL - though granted the internet does tend to be very annonymous the majority of the time.

 

I suppose if I did a more lengthy search in the Lobby section I could raise the required information but since I feel an understanding of age and cultural/religious background is extremely important when assessing the comments others make, I though I might just start with this poll regarding age [which according to a search does not seem to have been done before] to discover the average age of those who a regular contributors on Tao Bums.

 

The poll itself simply provides a 5yr window for correspondents to register their age group and I hope everyone who visits Tao Bums will participate so as to get a fair representation of the average Tao Bum and if people would like to offer further information regarding their age, experience and cultural/religious background please feel free to add a further MSG or a url to a previous Lobby MSG or a profile elsewhere, or one can simply remain annonymous if prefered.

 

PS - My apologies for anyone over 87 - I suppose the poll options had to come to a close somewhere and I simply chose that option.

 

Mindfully

Syn

[Taiji Bum]

41 but I think my profile states that.

[Yoda]

Synophion,

 

I think that might be a Britishism of you. I think that the freshness vs experience axis is fairly balanced out in terms of relative positive aspects*, that it's not a very important distinction for me. In any case, I'm almost 40 and the poll is a fun idea.

 

Yours,

Yoda

 

*In the field of spiritual cultivation. In the business world, experience more often trumps freshness and in general life happiness freshness seems to trump experience. In music, freshness seems to carry the day, but in writing the middle years are best, sports freshness, etc. I've heard it said that adults are the most happy in their 20s and again in their 70s assuming good health... that it's a bell shaped curve. I think we may get too serious or stuck in a rut in the middle years.

[abramelin]

1981 is the year I came into this world kicking and screaming.

[de_paradise]

Last year, at 36, I had to abandon what I thought I knew. So that makes me an infant with the burden of the preconceptions of a 37 year old.

[三江源]

what about if people have been asleep for years? or awake for years?

 

how should they answer the number question?

 

measuring hours of alertness?

 

or the plod of the calendar.

[Yoda]

I am just your average everyday taobum!

 

[mYTHmAKER]

A cut off age of 87 doesn't sound too promising for people who

are working towards becoming immortals.

[minkus]

A cut off age of 87 doesn't sound too promising for people who

are working towards becoming immortals.

 

Im sick at home at the moment, this brightend me up

 

Cheers !

[doc benway]

A cut off age of 87 doesn't sound too promising for people who

are working towards becoming immortals.

Nice one!

I'm a youngish 47!

This is the completion of my fourth cycle...

[宁]

personal history is easy to build and hard to erase, so pick any number between 25 and 30

[Yoda]

A cut off age of 87 doesn't sound too promising for people who

are working towards becoming immortals.

 

 

[Synophion]

YAY 49 votes already, fabulous. This already gives me quite an interesting idea as to the lay of the Tao Bum land so to speak. Personaly Im of the generation that was around when the martial arts craze first hit the West in the early 70's with such characters as Bruce Lee and Kwai Chang Caine which sparked an increasing interest in Chinese philosophy - those in their 50's and 60's are more likely to remember this and the plethora of books that suddenly appeared everywhere on the subject.

 

After that the late 80's and early 90's around the Aceeeeed Era and the Winter of Love was the next period to peak an interest in Taoism, then a more westernised new age form, which the books of Mantak Chia had heralded, which would account for the large amount of people interestyed in Taoism who are now in their early 30's - interestingly it was during the early 1990's that neo-paganism [western taoism with a small t] gained its largest influx of conversions.

 

PS - Being as this is a Taoist forum one would expect their to be at least some very elderly practitioners here especialy considering Taoist techniques of physical alchemey, which is why I took the poll up to 87 and apologised to anyone older for not taking it further - Im suprised more people didnt catch on LOL.

 

 

 

Mindfully

Syn

[松永道]

what about if people have been asleep for years? or awake for years?

 

how should they answer the number question?

 

I was awake. Then I fell asleep. Woke up again and stayed in bed for a while. Now I'm out of bed but still daydreaming.

 

How do you account for all us ~26 year olds Syn? Post college existential crisis gone chronic?

Edited March 20, 2008 by 松永道

[mantis]

17, have always been into this stuff since a young age.

[Synophion]

How do you account for all us ~26 year olds Syn? Post college existential crisis gone chronic?

 

Well considering the internet revolution is still relatively 'new' it is expected that the majority of internet users will be in their mid to late twenties and younger [since it is that age group that is more computer literate and were taught their skills in school].

 

Secondly that same age group is always in some existential crisis or another so it is also expected that they are the ones more likely to want to talk about in on a forum any forum.

 

What would be most interesting is to take a poll of those aged between approx 15 and 25 who are actualy interested in spiritual things, to see what particular spiritual philsophy actualy appeals to this particular generation.

 

For example that same age group in the 60's was interested in Indian/yogic philosophy, in the 70's it was more Buddhism, in the 80's it was New Age with a lot of Marx thrown in, in the 90's it was Neo-Paganism and the Occult, in the Naughties it seems to be anything associated with one or the other of the Abrahamic faiths particularly Islam - Taoism seems to have always remained a fringe interest for many being just the froth/sugar to some other system/path.

 

Of course the above is a bit of a generalisation and Im sure that there will be those who will pipe up to prove that they were the exception, however each decade does seem to have a trend which is often suppported by the sort of books available and what the media is willing to discuss.

 

Mindfully

Syn

[Taiji Bum]

I'm kinda happy Taoism has stayed on the fringes. There are some big names pushing it though like Wayne Dyer. Lets just hope Madonna and Brittany Spears stay away from it!

[松永道]

Taoism seems to have always remained a fringe interest for many being just the froth/sugar to some other system/path.

 

Do studies of physics, biology, and psychology count as a spiritual system? I don't consider myself a Daoist, Buddhist or member on any religion at all. Yet, I see great philosophies underpinning every one of them. And Daoist philosophy strikes me as particularly scientific. Like St. Augustine said,

 

"Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature."

 

It's an interesting thing in the West, that science has become a religion in some of the worst ways. The tell us what's real, what isn't, and people start listening to popular science over their own personal experience. Like priests are regular folk's link to God, scientists are regular folk's link to the universe. More dangerous still are the rigid, dogmatic views many 'experts' harbor. It seems they've confused theory for fact. The new clergy in lab jackets.

 

I can't speak for other generations, but the rise of religious fundamentalism in the States drove a lot of us to atheism (which is equally close minded) or agnosticism. Any system that can give a little more insight, Buddhist, Daoist, Yogic, Sufi, is a good draw for hopeful agnostics. After that, it seems a matter of personality finding which one works best for you.

[Stigweard]

bump

[Adj]

I'm surprised there are not more older people here.

 

I'm kinda happy Taoism has stayed on the fringes. There are some big names pushing it though like Wayne Dyer.

 

Whoa, really?

[froggie]

hm, where is the 250 - 255 age section??? =D

Edited January 31, 2009 by froggie

[phore]

Whoa, really?

 

Change your thoughts change your life by wayne dyer is a commentary on the taoteching

 

im 19

[Ya Mu]

You know you have been around awhile when you are giving a presentation at a conference and some older guy (you think this as he walks up but he is probably the same age as you) walks up to you and says something like "I know who you are. You were posting on the internet before it was an internet." He was talking about compuserve. I doubt too many of the folks here remember compuserve and 300 baud modems.

[Unconditioned]

You know you have been around awhile when you are giving a presentation at a conference and some older guy (you think this as he walks up but he is probably the same age as you) walks up to you and says something like "I know who you are. You were posting on the internet before it was an internet." He was talking about compuserve. I doubt too many of the folks here remember compuserve and 300 baud modems.

 

I'm 27, and I definitely remember Compuserve, prodigy, telnet, etc. then again I've always had an affinity towards computers.

 

As far as the question about 'why' young people are drawn to taoism, I can speak for myself very briefly:

 

I was very depressed and tired of all the hypocracy I found with my previous religious experience. I didn't want to burden my friends/family so I wanted to figure out why I was so down and I was averse to taking a pill to make me 'happy'. So I started searching for answers and didn't know much about eastern religion/philosophy. I picked up a book on Buddhism and it's been quite the journey since over the last two years studying Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, meditation, etc.

 

Spirituality in general I've always had an interest in... mostly a general curiosity about what life/living is and how it works and why.

 

The short version: I was unfulfilled and wanted to know why.

[Ya Mu]

I'm 27, and I definitely remember Compuserve, prodigy, telnet, etc. then again I've always had an affinity towards computers.

 

I think compuserve went live in 1979. You were -3 at the time.